Washington State Profile

Washington to receive federal grants to expand economic opportunities in the marketplace for specialty crop farmers; continued revenue shortfall deepens budget deficit; business tax climate rated among best in nation.

• State job growth fell 3.8% in August 2009 from a year ago; national job growth fell 4.4%.
• State unemployment averaged 9.2% in August 2009; the national average was 9.7%
• Personal income fell 1.1% to $277 billion in Q2 2009 from a year ago.
• Tax revenue fell 8.0% in Q2 2009 from the previous year.
• Exports fell 30.0% to $25.9 billion in the first seven months of 2009 from a year ago.
• Venture capital investment in WA was $123 million in Q2 2009, up from $26.5 million a year ago.